Burn
Page 11
The creature—Rex—rose and paced. Through tear-blurred eyes, Kokabiel thought he saw something… But he blinked and it vanished. No, Rex was no angel, nor was he human.
“The Kokabiel? The Star of God?”
“Yes.”
“Shit. What in hell’s going on up there?” He ran a hand through his curls, frowning up at the sky. Seeing Kokabiel’s look of confusion, he shook his head sadly. “You aren’t the first, lad. Not by far.”
Kokabiel reached up and clasped the hand Rex offered. The other man pulled him effortlessly to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily, unaccustomed to the weight of a corporeal body. He stepped and winced, a sharp pain jabbing into his naked foot. His muddy skin pebbled with the cold. Kokabiel glanced down. His flaccid penis rested in a nest of dark curls. That was new. Before, his body had been hairless and smooth. He reached up—tangled hair filled his fist. It was no longer brilliant and star-colored, but a rich, vibrant hue…like blood. It was very nearly the color of blood. His hair fell nearly to his hips rather than floating in waves around his shoulders. Gaps in the filth on his skin showed it to be creamy white, rather than alabaster.
Kokabiel touched the skin of his face. Under the drying mud it felt as it should, smooth and hairless. The features felt the same. He wondered what color his eyes were. He suddenly realized that he didn’t know what he looked like. Beyond his name, he had no memory.
“So you are God’s Star. Obviously, we can’t be calling you that.”
Rex strode to a lump on the ground. It was a pack of some sort. He reached in and tossed Kokabiel a blanket, which he accepted with gratitude, wrapping it around his trembling body. A sharp pain ripped through his belly, followed by an unusual noise. Rex grinned as he turned away.
“A bit hungry, eh? Well, I’ve got mutton stew that’ll be near ready.”
Hungry? That was the pain in his belly? He trudged behind the man, realizing that he stood taller than Rex, by nearly a handspan. Rex had broad shoulders, tapering to narrow hips. Kokabiel had nothing to compare the man to, but saw him as a thing of beauty and exceeding grace.
Grace. He had fallen from Grace.
“I’m thinking of names of stars. We don’t want anything too heavenly, if you know what I mean.”
Kokabiel did not know what the odd man meant. He looked around, blinking at the oddities of the landscape.
“What are those?”
Rex looked at what had caught Kokabiel’s attention. “Those are sheep. We use their wool to make clothing and blankets, like the one you’ve got. We use their flesh as well.”
Flesh? He swallowed down his horror.
“I’ve got it. Orion the Hunter, that’s a constellation. But we won’t call you Orion. You’ll be Rion Hunter. What do you think of that?”
Kokabiel didn’t know what to think, so he did not speak. That seemed the wisest course of action. It was the course of action he would adhere to for many years to come. Speak little, listen carefully.
He continued to trudge behind his rescuer, tasting pain, discomfort and misery for the first time in his very long existence.
Underneath all that, Kokabiel—now Rion Hunter—felt the awakening of a spark. That spark was the birth of something new—curiosity.
He looked around at his new home on Earth, and the newborn hunger in his mind very nearly equaled the hunger in his belly.
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About the Author
Belinda is an award-winning, top-selling author of erotic romance, speculative fiction and LGBTQ romance. She lives in far Northern California with her family, a pack of Siberian Huskies and a rogue Saluki.
A graduate of CSU Chico, she managed to attend the notorious party school without once getting drunk, arrested or appearing in a ‘Girls Gone Wild’ video. Her main focus of study was classical and archival history, cultural anthropology and theatre arts.
After several years in the workforce. Belinda purchased a laptop computer and from there, knew that her childhood dream of being an author would come to life.
Email: belinda@belindamcbride.com
Belinda loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.pride-publishing.com.
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